Film Scouts Diaries

2003 Taormina BNL FilmFest Diaries
Mob Blog - Day 7

by Philipp Hoschka

Taormina, June 13, 2003 - Gregory Peck died yesterday - on TV, they are showing "Roman Holiday", where Peck plays a reporter showing incognito-princess Audrey Hepburn the tourist attractions of the eternal city. Given that the movie is dubbed in Italian, I decide that I need a dose of the real thing, and take off for a walk through Taormina, where locals with the looks of incognito-princesses and princes use their Vespas to chase tourists on their Sicilian holidays through the narrow streets. Taormina must be one of the few places in the world where you can see that a Vespa seat actually has ample space for three, if not four passengers.

This evening's screening is Robert Duvall's "Assassination Tango". Before, there is a tango concert being directed by the Argentinean Oscar-winner Luis Bacalov, who also wrote the music for the film. The orchestra is joined on stage by Duvall himself, who dances tango with his movie- and life-partner Luciana Pedraza.

In the movie, Duvall manages to combine two of his passions: tango dancing (he has been an avid tango dancer for years) and Luciana Pedraza (who plays one of the main female roles). The movie is about a hit-man (played by Duvall) on a mission to kill an Argentinean ex-General. Arriving in Buenos Aires, he finds out that he will have to stay longer than planned since the general is not (yet) in town. This gives him the opportunity to explore the local tango scene, and to meet Pedraza's character. Viewers should not expect this to be a mix between "Dirty Dancing" and "Pulp Fiction", however - rather, the movie has a slight 70's-John-Cassavetes feel - the main story is not all that important, it is the dialogues and the character studies that count.

Previous Installment | Next Installment

Back to Taormina BNL FilmFest Diaries

Look for Search Tips

Copyright 1994-2008 Film Scouts LLC
Created, produced, and published by Film Scouts LLC
Film Scouts® is a registered trademark of Film Scouts LLC
All rights reserved.

Suggestions? Comments? Fill out our Feedback Form.